Christmas for Ichigo
by Totoromo
Summary: AU. Humor columnist Gin Ichimaru decides to play Santa to his down on his luck barista, Ichigo. He thought he was just doing a good deed, not knowing that Ichigo has had a long time crush on him. Christmas fic. Romance, cheer and yaoi.
1. White Chocolate Cappuccino

**Title:** Christmas for Ichigo

**Fandom:** Bleach

**Rating:** T, mild language, sexual situations

**Description:** AU. Humor columnist Gin Ichimaru decides to play Santa to his down on his luck barista, Ichigo. He thought he was just doing a good deed, not knowing that Ichigo has had a long time crush on him. Christmas fic. Romance, cheer and yaoi.

**Disclaimer:** Bleach is created and owned by Tite Kubo, I merely pay homage to characters and a story I love.

_**A/N:**__ Two months of unemployment so far. It seems that most of my adult life during Christmas I haven't had a job, so you could say this story comes from a genuine place (i.e. you stupid moving company! Bunch'a jerks!). Gin in this is based off a person I know and respect._

_I'll be updating fairly quickly, I have the story worked out, maybe a couple of chapters. It'll all be done before Christmas, or else what's the point?_

**White Chocolate Cappucino**

_

* * *

_

"Thanks," Gin said, getting his drink.

The boy smiled at him, "You're welcome."

It's surprising how many people don't thank me, Ichigo thought. Not that it's required or anything, but still, it's nice when it happens.

Ichigo started cleaning out the bar, wiping down spilled syrup and cream. He started humming along to the Christmas song playing over the loud speakers. He didn't see Gin smiling to himself as he read a book in the corner.

At least someone is happy, Gin thought to himself, sipping on his coffee. His phone buzzed and he looked at the message he got. It was from his old friend Rangiku. "Are you taking me up on that bet or what?" she had messaged. He ignored it. He could be nice to people if he wanted to, he didn't need to take a bet to prove it.

The boy's phone started buzzing too. He took one look at it and hurriedly answered, stepping outside but leaving the door open by accident.

"Hello?" Ichigo answered.

"This is Cross Country Moving, calling you back," the cheery sounding woman replied.

"Yeah, you moved me about two months ago and I just realized that I'm missing some boxes," Ichigo said.

Gin couldn't help but listen in, he was a nosey person. He could only hear Ichigo's part of the conversation.

"I know you're not a storage company, but it seems like if you had some stuff of mine left on your truck you'd call and tell me about it!" Ichigo was getting irritated. "I haven't had time to unpack before this. Why does that matter? You have my stuff and I need it. What do you mean you threw it out? Why didn't you just call? Those were my Christmas decorations! I had ornaments I made when I was in freaking grade school in there," Ichigo paused then remembered something. "You bastards, my mom's hand painted bird ornaments were in there too! You DID NOT throw those out!" he was practically yelling into the phone. "Well of course I'm upset. No I don't need to control my tone of voice; you've basically stolen from me. Not only that but I paid you to do it! YES I want to file a complaint, not that it matters because all my stuff is gone and I don't even have money to buy new stuff! You know what, never mind you jerk! Yeah, Merry Christmas to you too, you bitch!" Ichigo said, forcing himself to not throw his phone to the ground. Yeah, like I could afford that, Ichigo thought. I'm not even going to be able to replace my cheap fake Christmas tree, much less my android. He sighed, thinking about his mom's Christmas ornaments. Damn it, I'm not going to get teary eyed over something so stupid. It's just that I'm not going to see family or friends, I have no money, and now I won't even have decorations that remind me of home. He took a deep breath, not noticing the intense interest he had caused from the man inside.

About twenty minutes later the man came up to the counter with his empty paper cup.

"Do you want a refill?" Ichigo asked.

"Yes, and a lid," Gin said. "Rough day?" he asked.

Ichigo blushed, wondering how much the man had heard. "Yeah," he replied simply.

Gin didn't really want a refill he just wanted to get close enough to read the name tag on Ichigo's work apron. Ichigo Kurosaki he read, memorizing it.

"Thank you again!" he said cheerfully, putting some money in the tip jar once Ichigo's back was turned.

A couple of minutes later Ichigo noticed it, pulling out the twenty dollar bill. That was nice of him, he though with a smile. No one else was in the coffee shop so he pulled out his drawing pad and began to draw. He did a loose sketch of the man who had bought coffee, just like he did of most of the patrons at his work. He wrote "big tipper" underneath, not knowing Gin's name. Then he crossed that off and wrote, "Silver fox". The man had been pretty handsome. Ichigo wondered how old he was. He seemed to be fairly young, way too young to have hair that color. He had heard of people dying their hair gray, but that was usually a trendy girl thing, and plus, he didn't live in a very trendy city anymore. Not that you could call where he lived a city, it was more of a tiny Podunk town in his mind, though he supposed it was big for the area. He sighed and moved onto a sketch he'd been working on of his sister Karin playing soccer.

* * *

"You're actually going to do it?" Rangiku gushed.

"It's not that unusual," Gin replied.

"Oh really? You going out of your way to be nice to someone isn't unusual? If it was to put salt in their drink then maybe I'd believe you," Rangiku said.

"Oh come on, I'm sure I'd come up with a much better prank than that, even on the fly," Gin claimed.

"Fine. Prove it," Rangiku said, gesturing to the room.

"Old ones are sometimes good ones," warned Gin, standing up. He was lucky that the table had clean plastic cups for water and not glass ones. He had one under his arm now. An unusual looking man, striking even, he drew a lot of attention as he stretched his long frame, standing next to the table in the café he and Rangiku were eating at. He reached for his chin, cracked his neck once, and then bending it to crack it again, this time cracking the glass under his arm to make a startling loud noise. He fell to the ground like a rock, not moving. People gasped and moved around his prone body. Rangiku sighed and picked at her salad.

"He's ok," she waved off the onlookers. "He'll get up eventually."

Gin popped open an eye. "Well you don't have to ruin the fun, do you?" he asked.

* * *

"Hello again," Gin said to the orange headed boy. "Do you work here a lot?"

He neglected to mention that he had come by earlier in the day and a young dark haired woman had been working so he had wandered around for a few hours until Ichigo's shift started.

"As often as I can," Ichigo replied truthfully. It's not like it paid a lot, the more hours he got the better.

"My name is Gin Ichimaru," Gin introduced himself, reaching a hand across the counter.

Ichigo reached for it without thinking before realizing something. His mouth dropped open. "G-Gin Ichimaru?" he stuttered. "Oh my god! You're my favorite author!" he reached down behind the counter and pulled up a newspaper that was turned to the columnist section, where Gin wrote his weekly humor column. "I read your column every week and have all of your books!" Ichigo said excitedly. "Oh, and congratulations on the Pulitzer!"

"Yeah, I think they must have been smoking crack when they handed me that," Gin said truthfully. He really had no idea how he had won that thing.

"This is so great!" Ichigo beamed. Gin smiled back at him. Well, he's a fan. Does that make this easier or harder? It probably makes it creepy, Gin thought to himself. Not that the creep factor has ever stopped me before, so…

"Can I have two white chocolate cappuccinos?" Gin asked.

"Of course," Ichigo started adding it into the register. "Two?" he asked.

"A friend of mine is going to be joining me today."

Ichigo wanted to ask who, but thought that might be stalkerish. Gin frequently mentioned the people he hung out with in his weekly columns and on his blog, which Ichigo religiously followed.

"Gin!" a blond lady said from the doorway, walking in.

Blond with weaponized boobs, must be Rangiku, Ichigo thought to himself with a smirk. Gin wasn't exaggerating when he talked about her, he thought.

"Is that the kid?" Rangiku asked in a hushed voice as they waited for their drinks to be made.

"Yup," Gin admitted.

"He's kind of cute," Rangiku said. "I like the hair, and I love the sullen attitude."

"Go for it if you want," Gin suggested as Ichigo called out their order.

Rangiku smiled and sauntered over to the counter. Gin couldn't see what she was saying but she was leaning so far forward that her breasts were pressed against the bar. He could see Ichigo reddening and laughed to himself. Rangiku gave a light laugh and took the drinks, heading back to Gin.

"He's adorable!" she declared. "Shy too!"

"I think he's not into you," Gin claimed.

"No man is not into me!" Rangiku said determinedly.

"Well, no straight man," Gin replied.

"Oh," Rangiku said, looking over her shoulder at where Ichigo was wiping down the counter. "I don't know about that," she said.

"I do. He's an artist, lives alone, is far from his family, is barely making ends meet, and his hair is all natural. AND he's gay," Gin said.

"Already been doing your research?" Rangiku asked.

"No, those are just my guesses, but I'm good at guessing. I'll hit Aizen up later tonight to do a background check on the boy, but I'm expecting to see past date student loans and a former address in…" Gin thought about it for a while.

"See, even you can't guess everything," Rangiku said with a smirk.

"I'm betting you it's some place a lot more cosmopolitan than this," Gin stated, sipping his coffee. "He has the reverse "we're not in Kansas anymore" thing going on."

"Reverse?"

"Well the line was to refer to a country girl being in a big new land, and a new city. He has the look of someone used to a big city finding himself surrounded by trees and country accents."

"Bet?" Rangiku asked.

"I'm already in a bet with you. I refuse to be in more than one bet with one person," Gin explained.

"Someone cute and naïve like him, can you really be nice to him?" Rangiku said, her eyebrows raised.

"You make me seem like a monster. I'm just a guy who likes to have fun."

"At other people's expense."

"Sometimes. Most of the time they can afford it," Gin said.

* * *

After they left, Ichigo began to sketch. He blushed slightly when drawing Rangiku, since the way he drew he made her have porn star proportions. She _was_ big though, he thought to himself, thinking about her leaning over the counter. To tell the truth, breasts, all breasts in general but specifically huge ones, kind of freaked him out. How did she walk around that way? Wasn't she unbalanced? Did she have to wear special bras to hoist them up? Did that hurt? What did boobs feel like anyways?

He had an easier time with Gin, doing several quick drawings of him leaning back in his chair drinking, and one sketch he spent a lot of time on doing just his face.

I can't believe I actually met him. I forgot how young he was because it seems like I've been reading his stuff forever, but he started getting published right out of high school. I love that hair. I don't know why I didn't recognize him, but then again he always just has his author pictures be pictures of his cats dressed in suits looking studious. Ichigo pulled out his phone and went to Wikipedia to look up Gin Ichimaru.


	2. Strawberry Smoothie

**Strawberry Smoothie**

**

* * *

**

A little over two years ago Ichigo had gotten his dream job. It required him to move to a new city across the country, but it was worth it. People at his college envied him his break, vying to just intern at the type of place he was going to be working full time at. For two years it was great…ok, not great. He had to commute an hour into the city to live someplace he could afford, he worked twelve hour days frequently, it was stressful…but he still loved what he was doing. His design studio wasn't the most popular, but they were working with high profile clients and he was doing real work. His art was getting published and used in promotions. That's all he cared about. The people he worked with were great too, veterans of the industry who taught him a lot. When the company got bought, they'd all been nervous but had been assured that all old staff would staff. Evidentially all "old staff" stayed, all of the more recent hires got laid off. Stuck across the country from his safety net, Ichigo started to panic, but was relieved when he miraculously landed a job at a new studio within weeks. Sure it was in a tiny town far from his new friends, and still very far away from his family, but it was a job.

It lasted about a month. The owner of the company was a tyrant, hiring and firing people at will, not caring about the effects he had on people's lives. When he had ordered Ichigo to compete with a fellow artist, to be judged at the end of the day to see who stayed, Ichigo had refused. Turns out that was a bad idea, because the government didn't consider walking off the job a valid reason to collect unemployment. So after only one month in his tiny town, Ichigo needed a job immediately. Luckily the coffee shop he frequented was hiring. Kisuke Urahara, who owned the shop, was willing to give him lots of leeway with hours if he needed to take off to do job interviews, even if they were out of town and he needed a day or two off.

* * *

"You actually got to meet him?" Karin was saying over the phone. "I know you have probably all of his books."

"Yeah, he's a really nice guy too," Ichigo replied.

"Ichigo…" Karin said. "Ichigo, when are you going to come and visit us again? I haven't seen you for over a year."

"I'm sorry, Karin," Ichigo said with a sigh. "Not this year. As soon as I get a better paying job and save up some vacation time I'll come out. Or you guys could fly down here too."

"You know dad doesn't want to leave the clinic for that long," Karin answered.

"Yeah…but don't worry, I'm sure I'll see you guys soon. I have to get to work now though."

"Alright, go flirt with your author guy."

"I-I'm not…" Ichigo was glad his sister couldn't see his blushing.

"Oh come on, the way you described the way he looks to me means you're totally into him. I bet you have a dozen sketches of him already."

"Gotta go to work! Bye!" Ichigo said, hanging up.

* * *

Gin did show up that day, looking more dreamy than usual, at least in Ichigo's eyes. He was wearing faded form fitting jeans and a button down white oxford shirt unbuttoned into a deep V.

How is it that some men look sleazy showing off so much chest and others, like Gin, just look…Ichigo got lost in his thoughts.

"Having one of those days?" Gin asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Oh, sorry," Ichigo snapped back to reality and took Gin's order.

Not long after that, a businessman talking loudly on a cell phone came in. Ichigo controlled his irritation. It was pet peeve of his when people didn't get off the phone, or at least put it down when ordering. The man continued his business while also ordering, ignoring Ichigo's questions the first time, or just not hearing. Finally, Ichigo got his order and started working on it. A couple of minutes later he walked out from behind the counter and handed it to the man, who hadn't moved to pick it up.

"What is this?" the man asked, finally stepping away from his phone for a second.

"A large strawberry smoothie with whip cream," Ichigo replied.

"I ordered raspberry! And no whip cream!" the man insisted angrily.

"Look, you were a little distracted. I know I got your order right," Ichigo said, irritated with the man. "But I can make you…"

"What? Are you blaming ME for your incompetence?" the man practically yelled.

"Like I was saying, I can replace it with…" Ichigo was getting angry himself at this asshole and it was evident in his voice.

"Someone like you is nothing! Why do you think you work in a coffee shop? Because you can't handle the real world!" the man said, giving Ichigo a hard shove as he barreled out the door.

Ichigo took a step backward, and then tripped, falling directly onto Gin, who had been sitting at a café table watching the conversation. The smoothie went up and out of its cup, all over Gin's shirt and chest.

Oh shit, Ichigo thought. Then he realized that he was sitting on Gin's lap and started to blush. He was entranced by the whip cream that was dribbling down Gin's chin and neck. He shook his head and jumped up. "I'm so sorry!" he exclaimed.

Gin sighed. "Now I have strawberry all over me," he said, looking at himself.

Ichigo really couldn't not think dirty thoughts at that. Damn it, Ichigo, he yelled at himself, concentrate!

"I-I'm really…" he stuttered.

"Oh, it's not your fault," Gin waved him off.

Ichigo realized that he needed to get far away from Gin so he bolted behind the counter. When he looked up, Gin was on the other side, now shirtless.

"Gah!" Ichigo blurted out. Gin's soiled shirt was lying on the table where Gin had placed it.

"Do you have something I can wipe myself off with?" Gin asked.

My tongue, Ichigo thought before mentally smacking himself.

"A wet cloth, maybe?" Gin continued.

Ichigo grabbed a fresh washcloth from a drawer and dampened it with warm water, handing it to Gin. Gin began to wipe away the smoothie, and Ichigo couldn't help but wonder what kind of lucky day he was having to now have his idol and current crush now standing shirtless and glistening with water in front of him.

Poor kid is red with embarrassment, Gin thought. "It's really not your fault," he reiterated. "It's ok. That guy was a jerk."

What? Ichigo had to bring himself back to reality. Oh yeah, yeah, the bastard that had pushed him.

"I'm glad you fell on me," Gin said.

"Uh huh," Ichigo agreed. Wait, what? He thought.

"You could have really hurt yourself if you hit the floor, or a table," Gin said, now beginning to feel anger. That man really could have hurt Ichigo. And for what? Some smoothie he had ordered wrong? He smiled to himself. "He really did order a raspberry smoothie though."

Ichigo gasped.

"Just kidding," Gin said with a smile. Really, Ichigo was too much. He started to leave.

"Wait, let me get your shirt cleaned up a little or something," Ichigo offered.

"Oh, I have something I can wear in the car," Gin claimed, holding his dirty shirt in one hand, walking out the door.

Look at that back, Ichigo sighed. He tried to mentally smack himself again but it didn't work. Might as well get some use out of today, he thought after he cleaned up the mess. He grabbed his sketch book and started to draw.

* * *

Gin was pissed. Not at Ichigo, who was blameless, but at the man who had been so rude. He threw on a hoodie he had in his car, zipping it up to cover himself. There was a health food place across the street that also sold smoothies, maybe the man went there. Gin headed over, delighted to see the man, still yelling into his phone, sitting at a table nursing a raspberry smoothie with no whip cream. Gin pulled out his phone.

"Starrk, wake up your lazy butt," he said into the phone.

Starrk gave an incoherent mumble in response.

"Because I knew you would be home doing nothing, as usual," Gin replied, answering Starrk's question. "I need you to get into a suit and come over to Thalia's Healthy Snacks….because I need you to talk to a man and I don't think he'll pay attention to me…besides, I don't want him to recognize me later," Gin explained. "Oh, nothing too bad, I just need his business card."

* * *

Ichigo thought it was cliché when someone spit out their drink when reading something shocking. He personally instead choked on his coffee when reading Saturday's edition of Gin's column. It was entitled "The Completely Fictional Life of Yokochini Yamada, the Business Rat," and followed a jerk rat dressed in a business suit around his day making all of the mice miserable. It was hilarious. In the end he took off his rat costume to reveal that he had been a flea the whole time. Ichigo was sure that considering some of Gin's previous political writings, the whole thing would be written off as a directive against bank executives, who weren't favorites of the public at the moment, but he knew exactly who Gin was talking about. Did he follow that man around all day? Ichigo wondered. He became to ponder if all of the "fictional" people in Gin's works were real people that he tracked down and made fun of. He wondered how Gin didn't get sued, but then again, who wants to admit to being characterized at a flea dressed as a rat?

Ichigo calmed himself down and started going through the mail. He frowned at his credit card statement. That wasn't right. He looked at the phone number and decided to call.

"Bank of the World," the woman answered. "How can we help you?"

'Um, I got my statement today and it's…not what I remember it to be," Ichigo said.

"What's your account number?"

Ichigo gave her all the important information, listening to her type it in. "It says here that you have a balance of zero."

"Uh yeah, that's the thing. I didn't pay it off so…"

"Would you like to file a complaint? We can check out system to make sure…"

Ichigo made a split second decision. "Oh no! Actually I remember now, I totally paid it off! Whoops!" he laughed awkwardly. After he hung up the phone he stared at it for a while before calling his dad.

"Dad, I just wanted to call and thank you," Ichigo said, talking over his dad's annoyingly long greeting.

"Er, you're welcome son. What are you thanking your father for today?"

"For paying off my credit card bill. I mean, it was a lot of money. I can't believe that you did that," Ichigo said, rubbing his hands in his hair.

"I didn't pay off anything. What do you mean a lot of money? Has my son been getting into debt?"

"Er, no, haha! Of course not. You didn't pay it though?" Ichigo questioned.

"I don't think other people _can_ pay your bills that way," he dad told him.

"I guess that's true," Ichigo said thoughtfully. A bank error then? How was that possible? "Well, I'd better get going…"

"Wait no, I need an update from my son. Any women in your life? Beautiful country woman have to be all over…"

"BYE DAD!" Ichigo yelled into the receiver, hanging up quickly.

* * *

_**A/N:**__ Yokochini is that jerk who beat up Chad and took his necklace in the manga/anime, the gang member who they all called "weasel" (he recently made a return appearance in the manga and still got his butt handed to him, you think he'd learn)._


	3. Mocha Frappe

**Mocha Frappe**

**

* * *

**

"I can't believe it's almost 80 degrees outside today," Ichigo complained.

"You come from someplace that actually gets cold, don't you?" Gin replied.

"We didn't get a lot of snow, but it did at snow at least a couple times a year. It doesn't even feel like Christmas time right now!"

"Well, it was cold last weekend. You felt that, right?" Gin asked.

"Yeah…"

"Well, that was winter," Gin said with a smile.

"You're kidding. That can't be it."

"Oh, it might get down to lower temperatures a couple more times, but someone like you won't even have to break out the mittens," Gin told him.

Ichigo sighed. "It's near the end of December and I'm making you a mocha frappe. I would view that as weird someplace else, but considering how hot it outside, it makes perfect sense."

"Oh just wait until summertime, then you'll really start baking if you think this is hot now."

"Fantastic, I'm so looking forward to it," Ichigo said sarcastically, handing Gin his drink. "I could at least put some cinnamon on it to make it more wintery, if you want."

"Naw, its fine," Gin replied sipping at it, "better than fine, it's perfect."

Ichigo blushed. Gin took a seat and pulled out his Kindle.

"Hey, do you like that thing?" Ichigo asked.

"Love it," Gin replied. "I read books, get my newspapers, can view websites that are mostly text based, and read manga on it."

"Manga, seriously?" Ichigo sounded interested.

"Black and white only, but I love it. Rangiku wants me to get an iPad but I think it's too fancy for me," Gin said. All of a sudden he broke into a cough fit.

"You're not sick are you?" Ichigo asked, walking around the counter and putting his hand to Gin's head to feel his temperature.

"Er…," Gin wasn't used to people touching him.

"You got the cold coffee because you have a fever, didn't you?" Ichigo chided him. "Go home and take care of yourself. Here, take this…," Ichigo went behind the counter and rummaged around, finding a couple of "Emergen-C" packets. "Mix this into water and drink it a couple times a day and don't come back until you're healthy!" he ordered.

"Ha, you can see by how bossy you are that you're used to working in your dad's clinic," Gin said, sniffing.

Ichigo laughed and pushed him out of the shop.

Wait a minute, Ichigo thought, how did he know about the clinic?

* * *

When Ichigo got home he found three packages waiting for him. "Wow, these are huge," he said out loud, struggling to get them into his tiny doorway.

So should I open them now or wait until Christmas? He wondered. He decided to open them. If whatever was inside was wrapped he'd wait. Instead he found an art desk. He excitedly put it together and set it up in an empty corner of his living room (he had a lot of space since he hadn't been able to buy a couch yet). I just wish I had a chair, he thought. He looked at the other packages, a light coming on his brain. Sure enough, one was a stool that perfectly matched his new drawing table. The other was a clip on light that Ichigo attached to the upper right side of desk. He took a step back and admired it. Beautiful, he thought. Exactly what I needed.

He called his dad again, but got the same story. It wasn't from him.

It's so perfect, it has to be from someone who knows me well, Ichigo thought. He wondered if Tatsuki and his old friends had gotten together and bought it together or something. He called and left a message on her voicemail when she didn't pick up.

* * *

Ichigo didn't see Gin for a couple of days. He hoped that he was resting and getting better. He kind of wished that he could see him before Christmas so that he could wish him a happy holiday, and maybe get the nerve to give him a piece of art he had drawn and colored, christening his new art desk. It was of Gin and Rangiku, sharing coffee together. He figured that at the very least Gin would kind of like it. It was the day before Christmas Eve. He was walking home when he saw Gin, looking like he was waiting on a corner for someone. Ichigo waved. "Oh hi," Gin said. "Do you mind if I walk with you? I've been bored out of my mind being sick."

"Are you still sick? You shouldn't be out!" Ichigo told him.

"I swear I'm like 90% ok now!"

"I live nearby," Ichigo said. "I'm walking home."

"Do you mind if I walk alongside you for a while?"

Ichigo would be ecstatic if Gin wanted to walk with him, but he tried to not show his excitement.

"Looks like someone is getting a Christmas tree," Ichigo said, watching two men try to lug a tree up the tiny stairway. "Great, that's my stairwell. I guess we'll have to wait."

"Let me talk to them for a second," Gin said, walking up to the men.

"Don't let him know that I know you," Gin told them.

"What?" the blue haired one asked.

"It's supposed to be a surprise, Grimmjow. So you and Ulquiorra pretend like you don't know me or I'm going to make pranking you my New Year's resolution."

"No thank you, boss," Grimmjow stated, his hands up in the air.

Ichigo was walking up the stairs. "Do you need help?" he asked. "This is my stairway and I'm going up anyways."

"I think that Ulquiorra and I can handle it," Grimmjow said.

That has to be Grimmjow. These two work for Gin; he's mentioned them before on his blog. Ichigo thought to himself. The two men were dressed in delivery uniforms though, so maybe they had another part time job.

"What number are you delivering to?" Gin asked them.

"3605," Ulquiorra, his hat pulled low over his face replied.

"That's my place," Ichigo said. "Hey, Ulquiorra, Grimmjow, what delivery company do you guys work for? Do you know who ordered this delivery?" he asked.

"How the hell do you know my name?" Grimmjow sputtered.

"How many blue haired guys are there in this town? You work for Gin sometimes, right?" Ichigo said.

"Er yeah," Grimmjow said. "We do all sorts of part time jobs for all sorts of people," he tried to cover his tracks. Honestly, he only worked for a businessman named Aizen and Gin, but there was no reason to let the boy know that. "I don't know who ordered this, it was over the phone."

Ichigo opened his door for them and they got the tree inside. "I'll go and get the other boxes," Ulquiorra said.

"Other boxes?" Ichigo questioned.

"We don't make it our business to go through what we deliver," Grimmjow stated. "You'll have to check them out when they get here." He followed Ulquiorra downstairs.

"I like how even though you don't have a couch, you have three video game systems," Gin joked.

"Oh well I…I mean before I had a roommate who had a couch, so I never bought one and now it's just silly considering the expense and it's not like I ever have anyone over. Besides, I want to get a leather one so that it'll keep the cat hair off," Ichigo told him.

"You have a cat?" Gin looked around.

"He's a little shy when there's noise around, but he's really friendly once he gets to know you. The big ole' fluff ball is probably under the bed right now," Ichigo said. "Zangetsu!" he called, getting no response.

"That's an impressive name for a cat," Gin said with a smile.

"Well he's all black but he had a circular mark on his belly in white, so that's why I named him "morning moon"," Ichigo explained.

"I can't judge. I have two cats named Shinso and Haineko," Gin said with a wide smile.

"Which is the one that you usually put on your books?" Ichigo asked.

"Shinso," Gin replied. "He doesn't mind when I dress him up and pose him. Haineko is a little more bitchy."

Grimmjow and Ulquiorra had made it up all three stories again, each holding a large box.

"Ok, I'm curious. What's in them?" Gin questioned.

Ichigo opened one, and then the other. "Looks like decorations."

"Well, we have to get going," Grimmjow said, noticing that Gin was making shooing motions with his hands.

"Of course. Sorry I don't have any cash on me, I'd love to tip you. Those stairs are hard work," Ichigo said. "I can make you some coffee if you stop by my work though."

"Uh, yeah. If we're around we'll stop by," Grimmjow replied.

After the two had left, Ichigo turned to Gin, who was happily unwrapping lights. "I love decorating," Gin admitted.

"Oh, do you want to help then?" Ichigo almost felt ashamed of the feelings going through him as he asked. He and Gin decorating a Christmas tree together? It sounded so…domestic.

"I'd love to," Gin said. "As long as you make me hot chocolate and put on Christmas songs. Otherwise it just can't be done."

Ichigo laughed and made his way into the kitchen.

* * *

Ichigo blushed as Gin brushed up against him again, leaning in to place a shiny decorative bulb in just the right place.

He's in my apartment, Ichigo thought to himself happily. He's in my apartment drinking hot cocoa with me, singing to Christmas songs. Gin had a pleasant singing voice and seemed to know all the songs, even the more obscure verses.

"Too bad you don't have a fireplace for a stocking," Gin said with sadness.

"Do places around here even have fireplaces? I think it would be too hot to use them most of time."

"Some places do," Gin looked around the room, finally deciding to hang the stocking on a bough that had been placed over Ichigo's new desk. "Good enough?" he asked. He laughed as he shooed Zangetsu from chewing on the end of the bough. "My cats love eating this stuff too."

"The place looks great," Ichigo said, looking around. It was better than his old decorations, although he would still miss his handmade ones, and the ones from his mom. Still, his apartment looked very festive and looking at the lights on the Christmas tree he realized how much he would have regretted not having anything for Christmas. "Thank you," he said, impulsively hugging Gin. Gin was frightened he had been found out for a second. "Thank you," Ichigo continued, "for helping me decorate and spending the evening with me."

"You're welcome," Gin said. He wondered why he felt a sudden warmth from being hugged. He looked down at Ichigo. Oh come on, Gin Ichimaru, he told himself. Don't you dare get a crush on him. He's far too innocent and adorable for you. Still, his happiness was palpable and Gin was enjoying the genuine smile on Ichigo's face.

"Merry Christmas, Ichigo," he said at the door way.

"Thanks again," Ichigo said with a smile, giving him a friendly wave.

Don't even think it, Gin Ichimaru, you little coal hearted bastard, Gin told himself as he walked home.

I forgot to give him the drawing, Ichigo thought to himself.


	4. Spiced Cider

**Spiced Cider**

**

* * *

**

It was Christmas Eve and Ichigo was sitting at home, having gotten off the phone with his dad and sister's after wishing them a happy holiday. He made a pot of homemade spiced cider and poured some into his mug, sitting in front of his Christmas tree. He heard a knock at his door.

It was Gin, dressed up in Santa suit, although not with the fake beard and belly. He did however have a large black sack over his back. Gin looked startled to actually be speaking to Ichigo, although Ichigo had no idea why.

"Um…Merry Christmas," Gin said awkwardly.

Ichigo gave him a wide smile and invited him in. "Want some cider?" he asked.

"Sure," Gin replied, lounging on a bean bag.

"So, have you been the one doing all of this for me?" Ichigo asked as he poured.

"I…er…well, yes," Gin answered.

Ichigo thought it was adorable how he turned slightly red when admitting it.

"Thank you," Ichigo told him, handing Gin his mug.

"I uh…brought some Christmas presents for you," Gin said, taking out some wrapped presents from his bag. "Although, I'd prefer if you opened them now so I know if you like them of not rather than waiting for Christmas day."

"My family opens presents on Christmas Eve anyways," Ichigo said.

"Oh then," Gin replied, handing Ichigo a present.

Ichigo opened it. "Holy shit," he said, almost dropping it. It was a tablet pc.

"I heard that was one of the best ones for artists, it comes with a couple of stylus' and…" Ichigo interrupted Gin with a hug. Gin turned a little red. "I'm not used to doing stuff like this," he confessed.

"I bet you Rangiku put you up to it," Ichigo said.

Gin was a little startled at that. Ichigo laughed.

"I did tell you I've read everything you've written, right? Your weekly articles, your books, your blog. I know what kind of person you are, and I know you always take ridiculous bets with Rangiku."

"I wouldn't have done it if you weren't deserving of it," Gin told him sincerely. "These next two kind of go together," he said, handing Ichigo the last two packages.

Ichigo opened up one. "Wow, Adobe CS5? This is so expensive!" he opened the other package, which was a book on how to use the software.

"I uh, suppose I should be going now," Gin stood up, finishing off his drink.

"No, don't," Ichigo said, suddenly close to him.

"Ichigo?" Gin asked, as Ichigo didn't back away be remained close enough that Gin could feel his breath.

Ichigo leaned forward and kissed Gin. Gin started to respond but then pulled away, his arms still around Ichigo. "I didn't do this for…any ulterior reasons," Gin said, his forehead leaning against Ichigo's.

"I know," Ichigo replied.

"You don't know me really. I'm not a nice person," Gin claimed.

"You're nice to me."

"It's easy being nice to you," Gin answered.

Ichigo rose his face up and gently kissed Gin again, knowing that the older man, no matter what he was saying, had to want it if he was still holding Ichigo so close.

"Ichigo," Gin breathed, pulling away again, but still not forcing himself to fully let go of the boy. "You're just feeling happy because I…"

"You're not about to claim that I like you because you bought me lots of stuff, are you?" Ichigo said with a smile. "You have to know I'm not that type of person."

"No, you're not," Gin admitted.

"It's funny because you say I don't know you, but I know you very well," Ichigo said. "I know that you got engaged at 20 and that he cheated on you and broke your heart. I remember that because I hadn't known you were gay before that and you being so open about it really helped me come to terms with myself in my own life, because I respected you so much. I know all your friends, I know that you're an orphan, I know your favorite movies and books, and I know that you don't consider yourself a political writer but are more or less an activist, standing up for rights of the poor and oppressed. I read every word of everything you've ever written, so I feel like I know your soul because no matter how closed off you are in real life, you are completely open in your writing. Why do you think I had a crush on you all these years?"

"What?" Gin asked. "Before you met me?"

"Yeah. Luckily for me you weren't a grumpy old man but instead totally hot," Ichigo said, his fingers lingering at Gin's collar. "And I know you have to have been practically stalking me to do all this for me. You have to know more about me than you've been letting on."

"I…I'm sorry about that, I had to get information so that I could…" Gin started apologizing.

"It's ok," Ichigo said, nuzzling his neck.

"You sure that cider wasn't spiked?" Gin asked.

"I'm completely sober," Ichigo said with a laugh. "I've just wanted you for a long time, and you look completely…edible…in that outfit."

At the word "edible" Gin shivered. He wasn't a man who resisted temptation that often in his life, and he was feeling himself give in quickly to this earnest seeming young man in front of him.

"I AM a grumpy old man," Gin claimed, trying to back up from Ichigo's caresses but finding nowhere to go since he was already pressed against the wall.

"Are not," Ichigo said. "You're not that much older than me, and even if you were I wouldn't care. I don't care." He lips brushed against Gin's neck and he could feel the man shift beneath him. Come on Gin, I know you have to want this, or else you would have bolted out the door five minutes ago. He kissed Gin harder this time, more insistently, not letting him escape, holding his jaw in place with his hands as he delved deeper and deeper into his mouth. Ichigo moaned as he felt Gin's tongue brush up against his, and then lick at his lips, then move inside his mouth. He felt Gin's hands tightening their grip around the small of his back. He smiled and moved one of Gin's hands lower, feeling Gin groan into his mouth as he did it.

"You're…too much…" Gin was panting.

Ichigo grabbed onto the collar of his red velvet suit and pulled him backwards, towards the center of the room, away from the door. Since that went so well he decided to keep going and pulled Gin all the way into his bedroom.

* * *

Gin woke up with a sneeze. He brushed his nose and found that he was face first in a forest of orange hair, cuddled up tightly with Ichigo's naked body. I probably should have just left, he thought to himself, not bothering to move at all, just enjoying the warmth of the body next to him. I will just hurt him. He doesn't need any more pain in his life.

Ichigo was waking up. He looked into Gin eyes, open fully and looking at him intently. "Why such a serious expression?" he asked Gin.

"I'm just…"

"Happy to be here," Ichigo supplied him with.

Gin smiled. "Happy to be here," he agreed.

"Oh, and Merry Christmas," Ichigo said. "I didn't know what to get you so I got you freezing cold feet," he said while putting his feet between Gin's legs, entwining them.

"Why _are _your feet so cold?" Gin said with a gasp.

Ichigo mumbled something and moved his legs closer.

"You are going to have to stop doing that," Gin said, feeling himself come alive as Ichigo's bare legs brushed against his.

"Oh, this?" Ichigo said, moving his legs again.

Gin moaned and then grabbed the boy, pulling him close. "Bad boy!"

"Yes please," Ichigo responded.

"Yes please what?" Gin asked.

"Yes please punish me," Ichigo said with a twinkle in his eye.

Maybe it will be different this time. Ichigo is different. He is a different person than I've ever met before, and when we're together I'm different too, Gin thought. His thoughts were interrupted when he got smacked upside the head with a pillow.

"Ok fine, now THAT you're getting punished for," Gin said, tackling Ichigo.

* * *

_A/N: So, it's T, so there's no lemony stuff. I did however write a oneshot that follows our two lovers to New Year's Eve that is rated M. It's called "Champagne, after A Christmas with Ichigo."_


End file.
